NextEra working with Exxon to develop gigawatt data center for hyperscaler

NextEra Energy is partnering with ExxonMobilThe nation’s largest oil company will build a massive natural gas-powered data center site for a potential technology customer, CEO John Ketchum told investors Monday.

According to NextEra’s report, the 1.2 gigawatt power plant will combine gas production with Exxon’s carbon capture technology to reduce emissions. presentation to investors.

They plan to market the site to a hyperscaler in the first quarter of 2026. Hyperscalers are large technology companies that build data centers to train and run AI applications. There is no signed agreement with a hyperscaler yet.

NextEra and Exxon provided 2,500 acres of land for the facility. According to NextEra, the facility will be located in the Southeast close to Exxon’s carbon dioxide pipeline infrastructure.

NextEra is the largest developer of renewable energy in the U.S. but is turning to natural gas to meet growing demand from data centers. The energy company plans to bring 8 gigawatts of gas production online by 2032 and is developing a pipeline for 20 gigawatts of gas production.

NextEra plans to produce 15 gigawatts of power for data center centers by 2035, Ketchum said. This includes at least three data center campuses that NextEra is co-developing AlphabetIt is Google.

“A lot of this will start with renewables and storage, which I call bridge power,” the CEO said. “We also plan for the gas to follow.”

The technology sector has primarily secured renewable energy, and increasingly nuclear power, to supply data centers to meet climate targets.